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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. BEISHEHVL. MAT.

No. 443,472. Patented Dec. 28, 1890.

o Model.) 4 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. BEISHEIM.

MAT.

No. 443,472. Patented Dec. 23, 1890.

UNITED ST TES- PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY BEISHEIM, OF ROCHESTER, NE\V YORK.

MAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 443,472, dated December 23, 1890.

Application filed February 13, 1889. Serial No. 299,748- (No model.)

To all) whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY BEISI-IEIM, of Rochester, county of Monroe, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mats; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My present invention relates to that class of mats employed as floor-coverings and doormats composed of strips, preferably of metal, and serving also as scrapers to remove mud and snow from the shoes; and it has for its object to provide a mat that is ornamental, simple in construction, and can be readily made at a less cost than other mats presenting the same degree of finish and strength; and to these ends it consists in certain improvements in construction and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter described, and the novel features pointed out particularly in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a mat constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2, a perspective view of the end of one of the strips, showing the manner of connecting it to the frame; Fig. 3, a horizontal sectional view; Fig. at, a section taken in the line y y of Fig. 3; Figs. 5 and 6, views showing the manner of forming the corners when making the frame of a single piece of tubular material.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures denote similar parts.

In my present construction the mat consists, generally, of a number of strips of metal A, secured in a frame B, so that their edges will be presented on opposite sides of the latter, forming two scraping-surfaces. The frame B, of rectangular form, is preferably constructed of tubular material, thereby giving a finished appearance to the mat and also cooperating with the strips to firmlysecure the mat together, and the whole may be formed of several sections, B B constituting the ends and B B the sides, connected by connecting corner-pieces B as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 or it may be made in a single piece, thecorner being formed as in Figs. 5 and 6 and farther on described.

On the inside of each of the end pieces 13 B of the frame are provided slots 0, and upon the ends of the strips A are formed heads D about the size of the inside of said end pieces,

the neck a being about the width of the slot C, so that when the heads D are within the end pieces, the latter being rigidly held by the sides, the strips will be incapable of movement longitudinally, and as they are in contact with each other lateral movement will be prevented.

The strips A are preferably corrugated, and are so disposed in the frame that the corrugations of adjacent pairs will abut, as shown, and as it is desirable that these strips should be secured together to make the mat solid, I form in, say, every fourth corrugation on one side of the strip a perforation A and upon the other side of the next corrugation I punch out a small tongue A said tongues and perforations being so arranged that when the strips are placed together with the heads held in the frame the tongues in one strip will enter the perforations in the next preceding one, and they can then be turned down, fast ening the whole series together, as shown in Fig. 3. It will of course be understood that these tongues and perforations can be placed as frequently or as far apart as may be desired, depending upon the size and purposes for which the mat is used.

For the purpose of securing the end strips to the frame and also of producing a more fin ished mat, I prefer to construct the sides 13 B of the frame of pieces of tubular material similar to the ends, connecting them to the latter by cornerpieces B These cornerpieces are preferably of a size equal to the diameter of frame ends B, having reduced ends adapted to enter the side and end pieces and to be secured by rivets b 11 passing through them, as shown.

The end strips E G are provided with heads D, similar to the other strips, and strip E with perforations A for the accommodation of the tongue on the next strip A, and in lieu of the tongue A I secure small plates E to the strip, as shown in Fig. 4. These plates consist of a head corresponding to the inside of the frame portion B -and a narrow portion which is passed through the strip and upset, firmly securing the plates to the strip, and

these plates maybe so disposed in the length of the strip as to correspond to the tongues N, or may be located at any number of points, as may be desired.

The strip G on the other side of the mat corresponding to strip E is provided with the tongues A adapted to enter perforations A in the next preceding strip, and the plates E are secured to it in place of the perforations A, so as to have all the strips A intermediate the sides uniform, as will be understood.

In mats formed in the described manner it will be seen that not only are the strips all held together by a simple form of fastening,

dispensing with the use of rivets, which it would be difficult to properly place and upset in proper position, but also that the mat is secured to the frame in a manner that makes the whole a very solid structure, not liable to becomeloose or shaky when subjected to hard usage, and it is further strengthened when galvanized, which will serve to solderthe parts firmly together; but this treatment is not as necessary asin some forms of mats,though it :5 is desirable.

In making the mat I prefer to proceed as follows: The end strip E, having the plates E thereon, is first secured to the side 13 of the frame by sliding the plates into the end 0 thereof. Then the body of the mat is formed by placing the strips in succession against it and securing them to it and each other by passing the tongue A through the perforation A and turning them down, and as these lat- 5 ter are situated at a predetermined distance apart the heads D on the strips will all come in line. Then the corner-pieces B are riveted to the side pieces 13 and the frame ends B I) slipped over heads I) and the corners 1-3 riveted to these, after which the other frame side B with the strip G connected thereto by plates E, is placed in position, the tongues being entered in corresponding apertures A and turned down. Then the other two corner- 5 pieces B are riveted to the frame-sections and the mat is complete, ready for galvanizing, if this is to be done. Any other manner of assembling the mat can be pursued, if desired; but I prefer this.

Instead of forming the frame 1 of separate sections, I propose in some instances to form the'frame of a single piece of slotted tubular material bent into proper rectangular shape. The bend at the corners is formed by cutting 5 5 small V-shaped pieces from the inside of the tube at these points, as in Fig. 5, and insert ing a plug of material 11 therein to support the walls of the tube when it is bent around into position, as shown in Fig. 6, preventing their collapsing. When this form of frame is employed, the two ends and one side of the frame are bent into proper position and the heads I) of the strip E are inserted in the frame ends, and the strip is secured by riveting the plates E to it. Then the body of the mat is built up, as before, the heads I) of the strips being inserted in the end pieces B.

\Vhen the outer side is to be formed, the end strip G is secured to the balance of the strips and the last side bent over, the plates E E, riveted to the last strip, and the corner of the frame secured by a connecting-piece similar to 15, riveted to the side and end portions.

\Yhilc I prefer to connect the end strips E G to the frame in the manner described, as the mat is given a more finished appearance thereby, such construction is not essential; but these strips could be secured in any other desired manner, as by rivets passing through the frame.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a metal mat, the combination, with a suitable frame, of a series of corrugated strips secured therein having the corrugations abutting, and cooperating tongues and perforations formed in said strips for securing them together, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a series of corrugated metal strips having their corrugations abutting, and co-operating tongues and perfora tions formed in said strips for securing them together, substantially as described.

The combination, with aframe composed of tubular slotted material, of a series of strips, each having ahead located within said frame, and a neck narrower than the strip body passing through the slot therein, substantially as described.

i. The combination, with the frame having the tubular slotted end portions, of a series of strips having the heads on opposite ends thereof confined within said tubular frame ends, substantially as described, and the necks narrower than the strip-bodies passing through the slots in the frame.

The combination, with the frame having the tubular slotted end portions, of the corru gated strips having their corrugations abutting and the heads formed on the ends confined within the said end portions, and the necks narrower than the strip-bodies passing through the slots in said ends, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the frame having the tubular slotted end portions, of the corrugated strips having their corrugations abutting, and co'operating tongues and perforations on adjacent strips for securin g them to gether, substantially as described.

'7. The combination, with the frame having the tubular slotted side portions, of a series of corrugated strips secured to each other, and one or more plates secured to the end strip of the series having the head and contracted neck for co-operating with the tubular frame side, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the tubular slotted frame, of a series of corrugated strips, each having the heads and the contracted necks passing through the slots in the frame ends, and the plates secured to the end strips of the series having the contracted necks passing through the slots in the frame, substantially as described.

9. The combination, with the tubular slotted frame, of a series of corrugated strips having the cooperating tongues and perforations and the heads and contracted necks cooperating with the tubular frame, and the plates secured to the end strips of the series having the contracted necks co-operat-in g with the sides of the frame, substantially as described.

10. In a metal mat, the combination, with the frame consisting of the separate tubular I end and side portions having the slots and 

